“I’m a little nervous because our team hasn’t played well, the pieces haven’t fit great yet," Self said. "I think guys are trying, but we certainly weren’t great in either exhibition game and we know we need to play at a much higher level than what we have.”

In addition to discussing how the maturation of his backcourt players, Self noted how important starting out with an elite matchup has been beneficial to past successful seasons.

“The thing about playing games like this early is they’re learning experiences to allow your team to be better. I think in the Champions Classic so far we’re 3-4. Some of the best years we’ve had we went on to be a 1-seed (in the NCAA Tournament) and got hammered in this thing. And maybe didn’t have as good a year as when we won the game early. It’ll give everyone a look a where their team is.”

Listen to the full conversation with Bill Self below as well as segments with Missouri’s Cuonzo Marin discussing the injury to Jontay Porter and ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg breaks down what to expect this season. Also, you can subscribe to the podcast here.